Fan recalls lessons Gretchen Metz taught her

I think I can honestly say that I learned much about my craft of Public Relations from Gretchen Metz, a seasoned, savvy, lifetime business reporter for The Daily Local News.

I knew instantly if I had a winner or a loser on my hook by Gretchen’s voice on the other end of the phone. An, “ Ohhhhh, that’s nice” meant it was going to be a long, tough road getting coverage for my event or subject matter. A, “Well, send over the release,” was a very hopeful message that at least she would read my idea and see if it had any merit.

Public relations professionals are nothing without their media counterparts, the people who give their stories “life” and allow their ideas to see “the light of day.” Gretchen was such a person to me. Naturally, all of my stories were great ones from clients who had nothing to offer but headline news. Gretchen spent a lot of time reeducating me on that subject.

But imagine my concern on Friday last, when I got an email from Brian McCullough, her colleague and editor at The Daily Local News, who intercepted an e-mail I had sent to Gretchen. Her usual lightning quick response wasn’t so quick last week and thus his email. He told me that she was out sick, hospitalized actually, and things were not looking good.

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As I read those words, I felt a lump form in my throat. I knew of course the reason for her absence was that three years previous she had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. I kept checking in with her from month to month. She kept working after major surgery (an operation called a “Whipple” which re-routes your gastro-intestinal system), after chemo treatments, and after neck ports, arm ports and everything else. When Steve Jobs passed from the same disease, I remember her telling me, “He had all the money in the world and he couldn’t beat it. What are my chances?”

Indeed, Metz died on March 11 at the age of 64.

During my career at The Philadelphia Inquirer, we often made the tragic mistake of underestimating local newspapers. After all, no one could match the prestige and editorial integrity of the “Mighty Inquirer,” or so we blindly thought. But, after I left that job after 20 years to start my own PR firm in 2001, I was in for a rude awakening. I not only realized the value of local newspapers; I embraced them. And I embraced one local newspaper in particular, The Daily Local News.

Since most of my public relations accounts in Chester County fell into the business category, I had the opportunity to get to know the Business Editor Brian McCullough and his senior reporter, Gretchen Metz, pretty well. Over the last 10 years, Brian and Gretchen have worked on stories that involved my clients, and their breadth of knowledge and scope never failed to amaze me.

On occasion, we’d have the opportunity to sit together over a cup of coffee and chat about the state of local business in Chester County. Inevitably, questions would start percolating out of me and Gretchen would have to answer them. I would ask her things such as, “Who is moving into the old Genuardi’s store?” Or, “Why is that store closed?” Or, “What happened to the head of that company?” Inevitably, Gretchen would always know the answers. And if she didn’t know something, Brian certainly did.

I have an incredible amount of respect for these newspaper people who have weathered many storms, both professional and personal. Through them, I discovered a newfound respect for what it meant to be a reporter. Previously, from my “big-city newspaper experience,” I thought being a great reporter meant being above the crowd and above the fray. It meant being an observer, on a high perch, able to comment and report on the events. Through Gretchen, I found that being a true reporter meant to get down and dirty, right in the thick of things. It meant never being afraid to mix with the masses, listen to the people who mattered most and on more than one occasion, get your hands dirty, figuratively and literally.

I recall she had this great column a few years back called “Put Gretchen to Work.” Offbeat companies would call up and ask to have Gretchen work with them for a day and then report on it. Consider it a distant forerunner to the TV Show, “Dirty Jobs,” with Mike Rowe. I remember reading about Gretchen’s experience working at a car wash, on a dairy farm, at a quick lube station, and even with the man who picks up road refuse on the side of the highway. It was truly an eye-opener and usually pretty, pretty funny.

But the somewhat surprising e-mail that came last Friday from Brian wasn’t funny at all. In fact, it was just the opposite; it was heartbreaking. It was not only heartbreaking for her husband and children, who supported and loved her through this three-year ordeal (and her entire life), but it was heartbreaking for all the business people in Chester County. She was their friend, their spokesperson, and their raconteur.

It was her voice and her interpretation of the situation that gave their business underpinnings. It was her voice that gave their business, or event, credibility and validity. It was her voice that gave their business, a voice. Now, that voice is silent. Godspeed Gretchen Metz and for all of the business people in Chester County (and everyone you have touched with your special breed of journalism), may I say, a great big, collective, “Thank you. You will be missed – more than you’ll ever know.”

Melinda Williams is the managing partner of the Williams Group, a public relations and photography firm located in Exton. Visit her at www.TheWilliamsGroup.info or email her at info@thewilliamsgroup.info or call 610-518-4888.